APT Dry Particle Coating Technology

APT's novel technology is based on an innovative surface engineering technique designed to enhance material functionality through particle layering in the dry status. Dry powder coating involves the adsorption/adherence of "guest" particles onto the surface of "carrier" particles. This process requires conditions that enable frequent contact between guest and carrier particles, particle adsorption, and ultimately lowering of surface energy of the binary mixture.

Existing technologies are based on multi-step liquid based processes that are not suitable for heat and moisture sensitive materials. There is an inherent limitation in the availability of techniques for particle surface modification that do not chemically or physically modify the innate properties of the particle itself. During surface modification using currently available techniques, particles need to be stable enough to withstand high temperatures, exposure to moisture and high pressures throughout processing, therefore limiting the use of such techniques for unstable drugs (e.g. heat, moisture and physical instability).

Pharmaceutical Applications of APT Technology

Various applications have been investigated using APT dry particle coating technology that are useful to end-users in the pharmaceutical industry. We have generated extensive data to demonstrate advantageous formulation for multiple applications, including the following examples:

Content Uniformity

Content uniformity is a key parameter for potent drugs, which have a low loading and narrow therapeutic index. The technology at APT can deliver 99.5% homogeneity for drug load between 0.5-10%w/w with RSD <2% (Figure 1).

Fine Particle Fraction

The fine particle fraction (FPF), Figure 3 shows the superiority of APT formulation to Seretide® for the total amount of respirable material, percentage emitted and the FPF.

Powder Flowability

The blends processed using APT dry coating technology demonstrated significant flowability enhancement compared to cube mixing. Processing the blend for two minutes (Figure 4) using APT technology improved the powder flow from passable/fair to good flow, while processing for 5 minutes increased the flowability to excellent.